Adam Duritz Remembers the Formative Period
The initial four records were primarily recorded in houses located in the hills above Los Angeles. August and Everything After marked a significant milestone for the group, as it was their inaugural release on a major label. We each got an advance of $3,000; I used mine to purchase a classic red convertible and drove it to LA.
Every morning, I would start by listening to a Poco track, which sounds like the Beatles venturing into country music. Additionally, I frequently played a jazz record that my father had acquired as a free giveaway at a Texaco station when I was young.
Mr Jones was part of a demo tape that we submitted to labels, but it proved a challenging track to finish. It lacked a clear direction at first. It’s not a slow ballad nor a straight ahead number; instead, it moves with a rhythm, demanding a real feel to play. The style is soulful – more akin to the Memphis soul sound than folk.
Our drummer couldn’t hear the track as the others did – thus T Bone brought in one of his idols to perform on it.
We considered several production candidates, but when I spoke with T Bone Burnett, he seemed to understand where the band was headed. There was great potential, but I wasn’t satisfied with our sound – we were still learning how to be a band. Eliminated all the synths and effects pedals. The drummer couldn’t sync with the tempo, so the producer called in Denny Fongheiser, one of Steve’s heroes, to play on it. It’s a funny story, but it was tough on Steve at the time.
My best friend Marty and I performed in groups together before Counting Crows. Marty’s dad, David Serva, had succeeded in Spain and was back in the San Francisco area doing a series of shows. We went one of his shows and spent the night with the flamenco troupe visiting bars. The next morning, I returned and wrote Mr Jones. The lyrics reflect our experience that evening, wishing we were cool musicians so we could talk to the girls more easily.
In my view, it’s one of the best pieces I’ve composed. After playing another track on Saturday Night Live in 1994, the album climbed dozens of positions weekly for five or six weeks. Following that, the song turned into a huge hit.
David Immerglück Shares His Perspective
In the late 1980s, Adam, David Bryson, and I were sharing a space in a warehouse complex in Berkeley. Previously, I performed with Camper Van Beethoven and had an offshoot band called Monks of Doom.
One evening, I found Adam with a fresh recording he’d created with Bryson. I heard this song titled Mr Jones. It was done with a Dr Rhythm pocket drum machine that sounded like a video game or random noise, but his singing were exceptional.
After the producer took over, it was a complete transformation of Counting Crows. The approach back to basics influenced by folk and soul legends.
I got a call from Adam asking, “Hey, man, can you come down and play on this record?” By the time I arrived, T Bone had relocated us to a recording space in LA’s Encino – formerly used by Tito Jackson. Inside, we found guitars that Dylan had just recorded on.
He told me to perform behind the tempo the beat. His words were, “Playing too fast ahead of the drums comes off like an teenager hurrying.” With his southern accent, and his advice was to visualize relaxing on the console and staying casual during the performance.
Counting Crows was, to an extent, a response to the grunge movement. The tragic end of Cobain seemed the final act. At the time, everyone used heroin. The aim was obliteration, not mind expansion. That negativity had gone too far, and the pendulum swung toward something more human and sincere. Counting Crows combined folk and rock with a strong influence of Van Morrison soul.
Mr Jones remains timeless. On stage, when I am rocking out with the singer, I recall that moment when he played me the early version. Absolutely incredible.
